Torpedo



Feb. 24, 1925.

w. H. BEVANS ET AL TORPBDD Filed April 24. 1919 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 6 Jnmn furl N H. s

C 13 fltarngz Feb. 24, 1925.

W. H. BEVANS ET AL TORPEDO Filed April 24. 1919 2 Sheen-Shut 2 be r -With recent improvements Patented Feb. 24, 1925.

UNITED STATES 1,527,775 PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. BEVANS AND JAMES s. CUBE-IE3, or NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND, AS-

SIGNORS ro THE GOVERNMENT or run UNITED STATES.

Application filed April 24, 1919. Serial No. 292,511.

' larlytoward the provision of means for causing a torpedo, after having traversed a predetermined distance, to depart from its course and thereafter continue its run in a circular path.

in torpedo construction it is quite generally the case that the range at which the torpedo is fired is considerably less than that which the torpedo is capable of traversing. It therefore follows than-particularly innight attacks by destr'oye'rs or submarines on enemy vessels, where a short range of fire is commonly used, it is extremely desirable that means he provided for causing the torpedo to run *in a circular path after it has passed the target, to thereby increase the possibility of obtaining ahit on. the target or vessels accompanying it Thus, by providing the torpedo with such means, on passing the target and failing to make a hit the torpedo would "then commence a circular course,;enabli-ng it to recr'oss' the path of the target several timesi- In the drawings,' which form a part of this"dis'c'losure', we have shown'two fforms ofconstruction-for accomplishing the purposes of-this invention, both of which devices efficiently accomplish the pui'pojse's desir'edf, are 'readily applied tothe present sen icetorpedoes without material changes iin construction and offer as well the advantage of being compact and relatively inexpensiv'e'to manufacture.- In these devicessim ple'm-e'ans are provided for affecting the norn r'nal steering means of the torpedo, which customarily throws' the' vertica 1y disposed steering? "rudders alternately from narda:

port as"hard-aafiarbeard so'as to maintain" the rudders 'ii-nthe ir ira-rd over" positions, thus preventing {the further action of such to?" the accompanying have shown by way of illustration only several of the possible embodiments of this invention, like characters of reference designate like parts, and

Figure lis a side view of the afterbody of the torpedo with certain parts brokenaway and certain features of construction omitted for the sake of clearn'ess;-=

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the timing gear train and the mechanism controlled thereby;

Figure 3 is a view taken substantially along the line 33 of Figure 1, showing the means for overcoming the action of the normal steering mechanism;

Figure 4 is a detailed view of the connecting link shown-in Figure 1, while Figure 5 is a'view taken along line 5'5 oil? Figure 3 and showingthe-setting spind p i Figure 6 is a vi'ewin side elevation of the afterbody of a torpedo with certain parts broken away, showing a modificaton of our invention;

Figure 7 is a diagrammatic view showing the gearing used to actuate the timing rack;

Figure 8 is a' view of the timing rack taken along theline 88 in Figure 11 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

stop shown in Figure 6;

Figure 10 is a top plan "vi'ew k'jf the lodging link taken along din Figure 6; i

'r'a'ckmechanisinrand Fi'gur'e 12 is a View of The setting'spindle.

trolled from the gyrogmechanism (1 The outer of two concentric shafts D, fordriv ing the propellers, is provided with at gear e9 is 'a View ofthe a'etu tted Figure 11 is a large viewiqf ti i iii g 6 meshing'wi-th a pinion for driving a Leer;

rnesiiares a provided witha worm-' 10a 'which driye's" a wbrm fgear'i'l attached to off to accomplish the purposes of thisin- 'thelower part o-f-ajsti ihshaft 11'; the a per f end of which earries aiworin 12 meg with a worm wheel 13, wlhichin;turn drives spindle 20.

e.medi n-res dent as m y be ssa the periphen .ota. sleeve 16, rotatabty supporteda fishing-1 7 secured to. somesta tionary part of the torpedo and provided with internal gear teeth 18. This sleeve 1%) surrounds the upper end of a spindle 20 and the internal gear teeth 18 of said sleeve mesh with and operate a pinion 21 attached to the upper end of spindle 20. The gearing thus far described constitutes a timing mechanism for determining the point of operationof our device. The internal gear teeth 18. on the sleeve 16 are of greater width than the pinion 21 so as to provide for a longitudinal sliding movement of, the

Referring now particularly to Figure l, inahdllflglzammatic manner there is shown the usual gyro mechanism C, including a palletand pawl mechanism which controls the valve E of the engine F to normally effect the steering of the torpedo in a horizontal plane. .This general type of mechanism is old and. well-known and is described inprior. patents, as, for; example, see United States patents to Leavitt, Nos. 7 95,Qa.6, patented J uly 18, 1,905, and,,l,080,116, patented December 2, 1913, so need not be described in detail, but it will sufiiceto say that in e-issr e ste ii ns act en. 0f the t p by means of some suitable control meeha: sm, sac et-Q .exame e' as de e bs n t e abo mentioned patents, the rod 22' is moy ed one direction or the other to control, through a system of levers, the valve E o f the engine FL As is shown in the drawings, roll 22' operates belllcrank lever .whiehQitself operates rod 24:. A coop crating. blink is ordinarily associated with rod 24 25, which latter is secured tothe valve of the horizontal steering engiii'e,'by which means said y alye 'E isa ito t e ly, e p sc tsd.. akl a f r h 'e mete-"trevent 11y l lispdfidfisteering deand then the other to nainnifithe'wipdd a course'jbearing a QQPfiEM}? I2 PlQl1, ;t1 Pl n di ta-ties of the rewr-brrhqg r6 pe ie t ad t the sl itl nk wh h is em sela si tosqnnecttba iek -25; h. eirciifle d-ishie haw fir d. p t aee ieateeep lw aidmemli s- W -w esi a bent .w .2 les F ure 2 ri cred at ne and the fink225 en presi ed in ts-s ider si eiriths r a an sea -.21 mar -1. iteizsabstaet e y tra e a. heads t a 2S w-Lani e; hs-1lerer:,e1 1iotitheimd 24, :se

t. ei $1 115 eesiti a t:;t s;.; ere 25 h t the-spindle wisethati haeellar 5t; aet insi. ctil se ies-Me d sa trptitl eulevst is; t ea siepnareit tthegpesit esiske s,inrt esibent atnght an les and is Fa e-s normal steering mechanism of the torpedo.

This leY n-..; -2 ex ends tes ed; he. anin 27x throu%a a; sleeveBQ; which isstltn on an inwar "y projecflirigthol lotwiifie ta s 33 secured to the base of the gyro pot. A threaded ca) 34 covers. the setting spindle 20 and rent ers it water tight, at the same time providing removable means for getting at the spindle to enable the setting oi the timing mechanism.

A. spring =35.,seats at its lower end on the sleeve 32 and engages at its upper end a collar 36 secured. to. 'the'spindle 2); This spring. normally tends to hold: thepinion 21 in mesh with the internal gear 18 on the, sleeve 16, but when; the devieeisgto be placedin inoperati ei position, the. spindle 20 is withdrawn.againstth'e action. otthe spring 35, removing the-.indexpin 37 from. contact tionsegto taei-litate the. setting of; the; de- I vice.

In operation, the-spindle 20 is-firstturned;v

stop passed through operringv $1. T lee-pinion 2:1 is still held out of" mesh With. theintePnaL-gearl'S: by means of ..the-i11.- dex 35E; and the index. scale 42Jon-the plate. 38 the spindle 2 0 isgiven appro pr-ieite turningumovement until the, desired relation between the index pinfi'? and the Zero. point onnpeningtt in the; index plate 38eiis established. 'Thei pindleisthen. released 85th. we the pinion 21in meshqwith internal gear 18 on the: sleeveand: b 'imeans. ot the gear-mg; previo s-tel dlek.

s nilaed which takes OfiizPlOWE B from the pres s af isit "transmitted. ona. greatly educed ele-re'n o-tm slee e 1.6. he reduct n. tested estimat ng o; a known itatie. nd is sqeailsuleted that. Witlrth is tt ng above d cr bed In theat es-thetorpedo .sha-lli i ve defi ite i n t: at ested the mer -mea e -v t e; sleeve ista i'se beyond the target, it hit peller shaft D, movement of the eprgopelleli Y dist ste, esQima ed t r-i,

6 theoeeh t e. neeuetien searin mum?!" moving the .21, ;h s.-iust otate e:- l mdlefit inter-a pos tnn JYhtifi; the index. npinfit is l nedgup ith th eansei s 2 :Wfll sense; a t essitiidslialil i reaisn J a d tecl iaes'ia Bes emer-leg the sea esis; settle flS -l t, i

an gath r assess aw 2 I the sieeve26 away engagginenawi A j its positicnuat one end or-the other of the cylinder or will complete its travel to either endand then remain there, se that by means of the rod 48 operatedfrom the engine F and connected. to the rudders B, the rudders are either held in a hardover position or else moved thereto; As no further motion can now betransmitted to the steering engine valve E, the rudders are retained in their hard (JVel position by the air in the cylinder and the torpedo. will continue to circle for theremainder of itsrun,

Referring-now tothefmodification of our invention as shown in Figures. 6.to 10 inelusive, as before .thezclevice is disposed in the afterbody A of the torpedo. and acts on the vertically disposed-steering rudders B thereof. In this case, however, the 'main control mechanism is mounted just aft of the oil pot G in the afterbody and immediately above the distance gear H. Power is taken-off the gear 50 attached to the shaft D, which is the outer of the two concentric shafts driving the torpedo propellers, by means of a pinion 51, attached to shaft52, which is used to operate the distance mechanism indicated at H. This distance mechanism 'isfia standard .part of most torpedoes,-and has amongst its tune tions the cutting. ofi of the-power to the engines of the torpedoafter the same has traversed a predetermined distance For the purposes of this invention, as shown.

diagrammaticallyin Fi ure 7, a. worm 53 on the shaft 52 is used to rive a worm gear 54 on the spindle 55, the upper end of which carries 'aworm 56 drivinga worm gear 57 on the spindle 58, .which in turn, Zby means of the worm.=.60, drives a worm. gear 61 on the distance gear spindle 62. Teeth 63 are cut on the upper part ofrthis distance gear spindle 62 and in -operation mesh with. the teeth on the rack 64, so that-by means of the gearing heretoforexdescribed, -.;the distance gear spindle 62 is driven-eta very'muclf re-.

duced speed to slowly move the rack 64in the desired direction.

Therack is -held and headed guide pins 65 an I the two l d-66, the'latt'er- 0t which is anfeccentric and'capable of rota-'- a turhingzmovement of the.

tion. Thus, 5 guide pin 66; e rack may be thrown out of mesh with the teeth 63 ahdthe device renv dles'67aand protects itflprovides nsane for setting the device 'tooEeratei'at-ariyrequi'r'ed distance -A %ca'p 73 mentwith'stheboss 72 and provides a. covering iforthe? setting piliienh67 when; thes'ame as tlmeadedengage;

Disposed within the path'of travel of the rack 64 is the upper arm 74 of the bell crank lever 7 5, to the other arm of which is secured a rod or wire 76, so that when the rack has been brought to a point in its travel where it engages the arm 74 and thus operates the bell crank lever 7 5, by means of the wire 76 a suitable means hereinafter described is brought into operation to accomplish the purposes of this invention.

As in the modification previously described, the ope-ration of the steering engine F is controlled by a valve E, which in its turn is controlled by means of the pallet and pawl device, cooperating with the gyroscope mechanism. By this means, should the torpedo deviate, as it constantly does, from a course bearing the prescribed relation to the plane of rotation of the rotor of the gyroscope, this mechanism will be effective to actuate the valve E and operate the en gine F to displace the rudders B from its previous position, bringing the torpedo back on its course.

The actual movement of the rudders iseffected through the agency of a rod 77 attached to the piston of the engine by means of the usual rudder rod connection 78. On the top of the gyro steering engine are two slotted lugs 80 and 81, within the slotted portions of which is carried the locking link 82 pivoted at one end in the lug 80. Normally this link 82fits Within the slot 83 of the slotted lug84, projecting f-rom the 11 per part of a rotatable stop 85 supportedy a flat torsion spring 86, which is secured at one endas at 87 in a suitable manner, as by a friction fit, in the slot in the'lug 80.

This stop 85 includesan arm 88 having at its lower end a head member '90-;

The operation ofthe device is briefly as follows: The-eccentric pin 66 is adapted to .hold the rack 64 outof engagement with .the'teeth 63 and-When it is desired to use :-The eccentric guidepin 66 isth-en turn-ed'to' carry the rack' into engagement with the teeth 63 an'd the device is ready for operation.

' When 'the torpedo is fired the mounted on thepro'peller shaft D drives the pinion 5.1 and by means of the gearing previously describedand- 'd'i agrammatiica-l ly dis closed in Fi refl, the distance gear spindle gear 5O 62 is rotate at a very reduced rate-of-speed:

In-accordance with the previous. calculw tions, the rack 64: has: been so: set that -it= will strike. and aotuate-Jthe :bell 'cra'nklever 75 whenuthestorpedeahas.gone the required distance. When? this happens, I the rod or -=Wire .776: which is .attachedmt @onejend the bell crank lever and at its other end, as at Bl, to the link 82, pulls the locking link 82 out of engagement with the slot 88 in the slotted lug 84 attached tothe rotatable stop 85. When this is; done, the tension spring will act upon the stop 85 to throw the-head member Ema-thereof toward the rud den rod: connection 78 so that it will, at: the first poesflble opportunity, enter the spacelietween the rudder rod connection 78 and the cylinder-heard; nut: :92, assuming the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 9,-and preventingany further movement of! the rod 77 controlling the positionv oi the rudders LB. Thus; by this means the rudders are looked-in a hand-over position tor the balanee-pf the run, and the torpedo will .continue on aeiroular path until the power of the. torpedo is exhausted or the distance gear haseperated to shut off the power in the usual way.

While We have, in-thi-s application illustratednonlytwo ways. of accomplishing-the purposes of our invention, it is obvious that the broad idea herein involved may be .ac complishedina vaniety of ways and the present d-isolos'ureis. intended as merely illustrative of the broad idea, which is susp ib e O her and numerous modifica- W a We: claim is 1.

1a In a-torpedo, combination, a steering engine and; rudders, agyl ro mechanism no-rmally controlling said steering. engine to maintain the torpedo on its course, and nieehanieal means.- effective at a predeten mined point in the course to aflectsaid steering engine vand cause the torpedo to. circle bylocking the-ruddeis 'in fixed position; v 4

a; tDrpedo; in -\combination, a power driai'em sham-a; reduction gear train driven thereby, steering --lineehanism ;norinall y: effective to-.--meintain said-i' 'tbnpie-doTon its course, and "means,- made efieeti v'e. said redliction gear train-, for cansingsaid-tob pedeztoq e-iirele after havingtraversed a predetelimillei distance by locking-the steering mechanism against furtheroperation.

3n film iiirexgplosivecarrying body, in combination,- propelling means,"steering; means; gyroscopioally controlled mechanism controllingi saidssteening means'to maintain: said torpedo on its course, and means-efiective at -a-,predet,ermined' point in the course of said-it'orijl aqedo' foreausiingit -to circleby eeeteeningi mechanism against fiurther -alienation.- Y

hilnien explosive carryih'g-body.-=in combinatibnhpnepel'ling means,-. -=verticall-y dis posed Z steering 2 madam; -'mounted ad5jaeent saiflepixqpefllilrg means-,wmeehanismenormally controlling; and steering nudderS? {to main vtmm smfl ltnvpedn 1on1 ststeeurmi, andrmeans.

eon -within the- -scopfe of the appended a predetermin mam-u stantialliv straight-course, and: means, Olji'llfifi i eluted at aipredetermiinedipointi inlflhe counse 01 said torpede,-tio pmeve'zmtiaetuattdn edtsaid' rod by-sairl enginewheiteby thetonp'edo is caused to eirole.

means,steeringnruddersrianrengine a rod, providing an abutmenhuconneeted to said: steering ladders and aetuated by said" engine, means, HQIiIDZPwlly efleetive,='fiorautomatically controlling saaidt engine naain- 1';

tain said: torpedo enla substantially straight course, and a time aetuafiedimemhien, moved between said abutment and saidfengi nei to render saidantinnatic-eentnol ineffective and cansesaid tonpede-to circle;

7. In a torpedo, in coniliia raton, steering rudders, a rod eennectedte said-2 rudder-s, automatically controlled means-= normal-1yefleotive, act-ingsthrough said reda to steer said torpedo on a. isuibstiantially straight- 9.5

course, and-a notataihle stopmonmallw out Oh operative position, for previenting the actuation of said rod bait'rotaiiable-at'a prede. ter-Inined point of ='thQ-.=.ooin"se-' whereby said tor lp'edo is caused to circle.

8"; In a torpedo, inncorrrbination, steering rudders, a :ZFOrCl: connected tio said-t rudders, automatically controlledf means, henna-11y- .f- J 'fecti-ve, acting. through". said FOdi to. steel said tonpedtronv asiihstantialdy straight-1.05:

course, a retathble step, fon preventing the; actuation ofzsaid nod? whenehy said torpedo is mused toneimte, adsjustabledtimilrgmeans for: bri'aggihgisaids step inte'iaetio'nilat;

toiipede.

9. In a torpedo, in combinatiobii, steering. rudders, 'a rod *donnedted t6 said ruddeitsi 'autbmati'ea lly ooIitfro-lled rn'eans normally eif fective, aetiiigtlardugh noduto stie'n lis said torpedo on 'asubstantially straight course, a -.rotatable"stop, ior prewentingg the actuation 0s? saithv IiOd? whereby saiid floi'pede: is caused to cirele, .a member: 'sfior lockihg,

' saidstop in inoperative positieni-and adjust-H able? timing means? for Withdrawing; said loclfiingic-memlim I T 10;? In i a mi'pedog in; seeniiii-maintain; "steering:

rudd'ers,.- a: rbd'aconnected to. said rudtlems,

automatically dontralledi meains, *iinmnafly125w efleetiiv e, actingnthnougdn' Swldf' teeth to s teen said; teurygiedo= em 2' a substantially straight course, at rotatable; stop ifinapnewdnflingv the:

actnatiloniiefesa-id iodi'wihere'hy ='skiil: itfirpei io= '-is caused to circle, means for loehangisaod 'l'eoz point :the -coiirsei .ofi'ssaid- .110

stop in inoperative position, a reduction gear train, and an adjustable rack, driven from said gear train, for Withdrawing said look ing stop.

11. In a torpedo, in combination, steering rudders, a rod connected to said rudders, automaticall controlled means, normally effective, acting through said rod to steer said torpedo on a substantially straight course, a rotatable stop, for preventing the actuation of said rod whereby said torpedo is caused to circle, a torsion spring for actuating said stop, a pivoted member for locking said stop in inoperative position, and a time controlled means for permitting said stop to move into operative position.

12. In a torpedo comprising propelling and automatic steering mechanism, means for causing the torpedo, after traversing a predetermined fraction of its normal run,'to then steer a curved course, such means comprising a timing device for bringing it into action at a determined point in the run of the torpedo, and a controlling means for holding the rudder to one side.

13. In a torpedo according to claim 12, the controlling means adapted to stop the steering action of the normal steering mechanism, whereby to hold the rudder to one side.

14. In a torpedo according to claim 12, the controlling means adapted to dominate and overcome the normal steering action of the steering mechanism and thereby to hold the rudder to one side.

15. In a torpedo according to claim 12, said controlling means comprising a mechanical device acting between the steering mechanism and tiller.

Signed at Newport, Rhode 18th day of Feb., 1919.

WILLIAM H. BEVANS. JAMES S. GUERIER.

Island, this 

